South Korea says the North is willing to talk to the U.S.

BREAKING THIS MORNING — SOUTH KOREA SAYS THE NORTH IS WILLING TO TALK TO THE U.S. AND HALT ITS NUCLEAR PURSUITS DURING NEGOTIATIONS, via Reuters: “North Korea is willing to hold talks with the United States on denuclearization and will suspend nuclear tests while those talks are under way, the South said on Tuesday after a delegation returned from the North where it met leader Kim Jong Un.

Story Continued Below

“North and South Korea, still technically at war but enjoying a sharp easing in tension since the Winter Olympics in the South last month, will also hold their first summit in more than a decade next month at the border village of Panmunjom, the head of the delegation, Chung Eui-yong, told a media briefing.

“‘North Korea made clear its willingness to denuclearize the Korean peninsula and the fact there is no reason for it to have a nuclear programme if military threats against the North are resolved and its regime is secure,’” the head of the delegation, Chung Eui-yong, told a media briefing.

"'The North also said it can have frank talks with the United States on denuclearization and the normalisation of ties between North Korea and the United States,'” Chung added.

"He cited the North as saying it would not carry out nuclear or missile tests while talks with the international community were under way. North Korea has not carried out any such tests since November last year."

And is the U.S. ready as a tricky diplomatic path opens? Asks The Wall Street Journal.

— MOON STILL AIMS TO BOLSTER SOUTH KOREAN DEFENSE, Reuters reports: “South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Tuesday the military should focus ‘all its power’ to boost its defense capabilities to counter North Korea’s missile and nuclear programs, even while it engages Pyongyang in dialogue.

“‘We must speak with the North for the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula but at the same time we should focus all our efforts to quickly, effectively create defenses against North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs,’ Moon said in remarks at a military graduation ceremony.

“Moon added he would further develop the joint defense system between South Korea and the United States.”

South Korea and the U.S. are set to start military cost-sharing talks this week, adds Yonhap News Agency.

But taking out North Korean missiles would be difficult, writes War Is Boring.

PROBE FINDS NIGER MISSION LACKED PROPER APPROVAL, reports The Associated Press: “A military investigation into the Niger attack that killed four American service members concludes the team didn’t get required senior command approval for their risky mission to capture a high-level Islamic State militant, several U.S. officials familiar with the report said. It doesn’t point to that failure as a cause of the deadly ambush.

“Initial information suggested the Army Special Forces team set out on its October mission to meet local Nigerien leaders, only to be redirected to assist a second unit hunting for Doundou Chefou, a militant suspected of involvement in the kidnapping of an American aid worker. Officials say it now appears the team went after Chefou from the onset, without outlining that intent to higher-level commanders.

“As a result, commanders couldn’t accurately assess the mission’s risk, according to the officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the results of the investigation before they’re publicly released. The finding will likely increase scrutiny on U.S. military activity in Africa, particularly the role of special operations forces who’ve been advising and working with local troops on the continent for years.”

— PENTAGON WARNS MEDIA ON ISIS AMBUSH VIDEO, via our colleague Wesley Morgan: “The Pentagon is warning media outlets not to publish a video released by the Islamic State over the weekend purportedly showing a deadly ambush of American troops last fall in the African nation of Niger.

“‘We ask the media and the public and all responsible entities not to aid these terrorists in recruiting efforts by viewing or bringing to attention these images, these videos. You are complicit in amplifying ISIS propaganda if you do that,’ Col. Rob Manning told reporters on Monday.”

— AHEAD OF WALDHAUSER’S HASC APPEARANCE TODAY: The warning comes ahead of U.S. Africa Command chief Gen. Thomas Waldhauser's testimony before the House Armed Services Committee on challenges and U.S. military activities in Africa.

COCHRAN TO RESIGN APRIL 1, report POLITICO’s Burgess Everett, John Bresnahan and Kevin Robillard: “Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) will resign from the Senate on April 1, his office announced Monday, triggering a second Senate election in Mississippi this fall and reshaping the leadership of one of Congress's most powerful committees.

“I regret my health has become an ongoing challenge,” Cochran said in a statement released on Monday afternoon. Cochran is the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.”

— DEFENSE SPENDING PANEL IN FLUX TOO: Cochran's resignation also creates a vacancy atop the powerful Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, which he chairs in addition to the full Appropriations panel.

And Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) — long an advocate of military installations, rocket production and shipbuilding in Alabama — is the early frontrunner to succeed Cochran in both posts.

TESTER LEADS SENATORS ON HUEY PUSH: Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) is leading a bipartisan group of senators pushing the Air Force to provide a detailed timeline on the replacement of Vietnam-era helicopters used to patrol the country’s ICBM sites.

U.S. Strategic Command has determined there's an “urgent need” to replace the aging fleet, but recent actions from the Air Force and the Government Accountability Office have derailed the scheduled arrival, the senators write in a letter to Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson.

“At a time when our nation is upgrading our nuclear arsenal due to the increased global threats and near peer adversaries, we cannot afford to continue delaying additional capabilities to secure our ICBM fields,” the senators write.

Last month, Sikorsky filed a pre-award protest with GAO related to disagreements with the Air Force about intellectual property and data rights, the use of commercial off-the-shelf technology and an insistence by the service that the company sign a “100 percent compliance letter,” a company official previously told Morning D.

SASC READINESS PANEL CALLS FOR FUNDING FLEXIBILITY: In a letter to Cochran and Senate Defense Appropriations ranking Democrat Dick Durbin of Illinois, all seven members of the Senate Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee call for granting the Pentagon additional flexibility in spending extra funding with limited time left in the fiscal year.

"With proper congressional oversight, two different exceptions could help alleviate pressure for the Department," the senators write. "An exception to the policy for the '80/20 Rule' or the 1-year limitation for Operation and Maintenance (O&M) accounts could give much needed flexibility to the Department."

WAR REPORT — WHITE HOUSE CONSIDERS NEW MILITARY ACTION AGAINST SYRIA, reports The Washington Post: “The Trump administration has considered new military action against the Syrian government in response to reports of ongoing chemical weapons use, officials said, raising the prospect of a second U.S. strike on President Bashar al-Assad in less than a year.

“The president requested options for punishing the Assad government following reported chlorine gas attacks — at least seven so far this year — and possibly other chemicals affecting civilians in opposition-controlled areas.”

But only an international body can rule if allegations about the use of chemical weapons is true, the Kremlin says, via Reuters.

The U.S.flouts a U.N. Syria resolution by not reining in Ghouta rebels, Russia adds, via Reuters.

— COUNTER-ISIS OPS IN EASTERN SYRIA PAUSED, the Pentagon says, via the AP: “U.S.-backed ground operations against Islamic State remnants in eastern Syria have been put on hold because Kurds who had spearheaded combat against the extremists have shifted to a separate fight with Turkish forces, U.S. officials said Monday.

“The public acknowledgement of what Col. Rob Manning, a Pentagon spokesman, called an ‘operational pause’ is the most explicit sign yet that Turkey’s intervention in the Kurdish-held enclave of Afrin is hindering the U.S. effort to finish off IS in Syria.”

IRAN VOWS ITS MISSILE WORK WILL CONTINUE, via Reuters: “Iran will press on with its missile program regardless of Western pressure to halt it, a senior military commander was quoted on Monday as saying.

“‘Iran’s missile program will continue non-stop and foreign powers have no right to intervene on this issue,’ the semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted Iranian Armed Forces spokesman Masoud Jazayeri as saying.”

About The Author : Gregory Hellman

Greg Hellman is a defense reporter for POLITICO Pro. He is the author of the Morning Defense newsletter and covers Congress.

Prior to joining POLITICO, Greg worked as a national security analyst for the Government Accountability Office where he focused on defense and counter-ISIS policy. He also worked as a reporter for Bloomberg BNA and Inside Washington Publishers, where he covered worker-safety policy.

Greg grew up outside Milwaukee, Wis. He graduated from Boston University in 2008 and American University in 2013.